It’s October. The wind is blowing, and the leaves are changing.* As the weather begins to cool and the veil between the living and the dead stretches thin, you know in your bones that Halloween is approaching. If you’re a horror fan, this almost definitely means that you’ll be throwing on a Halloween movie or two before the season is over. But the question is, which movie is your go-to? And what does that say about you? Well, I’m here to answer that question in this handy-dandy guide!
*This doesn’t apply if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, anywhere remotely equatorial, or – like me – Southern California, but a Pasadena Halloween is actually more authentic to the first movie anyway, so we all win.
What Your Favorite Halloween Says About You
Halloween (1978)
Now, here’s where the distinction between “favorite” and “best” comes into play. Every Halloween fan secretly knows that John Carpenter’s original is the best Halloween movie by pretty much any qualitative yardstick one can use to measure it. However, there are likely only two major reasons it would be your favorite. The first reason would be that you are new to the franchise and have been freshly bowled over by its eerie iconography. Fans who are more hardcore and long-term have likely overindulged in the original’s charms and moved their attention elsewhere in the franchise for a fresher fix.
The second reason would be that you’re a purist, a cineaste unwilling to overlook the movie’s aesthetic, atmosphere, and contributions to cinema history. Power to you, and may you forever be entitled to one good scare.
Halloween II (1981)
Congratulations, you are a true slasher fiend. Several of the original creatives are still around (Debra Hill, Dean Cundey, John Carpenter as co-writer and co-composer) to maintain consistency with the original. Still, Halloween II is steeped in early ‘80s slasherdom like no other Halloween movie. The subgenre that Halloween helped birth has now fully dictated the formula that its sequel follows, and that inimitable feeling of seeing a beloved formula executed by people who know what they’re doing can be addictive.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
You’re a champion of the underdog. The Myers-less entry in the franchise has had a cultural reappraisal in recent years, but it still generally has a reputation for being a disappointing break from the series norm, so the sad puppy quality of this movie makes it even more endearing to you. You’re also probably less of a slasher person but definitely have a soft spot in your heart for the gooey grotesquerie that 1980s supernatural horror had to offer.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
You just love Fall. You’re probably in line for a pumpkin spice latte as you’re reading this. You really dig when something leans in on that autumnal Halloween-y vibe, capturing the nostalgic childhood feeling of trick-or-treating down leaf-lined streets (which Halloween 4 delivers in spades thanks to finally moving production out of the season-free California and centering a kid protagonist).
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
You come to the slasher genre for the time capsule aspect of it all. You want to bask in those 1980s signifiers, from the clothing to the hairstyles to the dialogue. You’re mad Becca’s “Romeo, Romeo” isn’t on Spotify.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
You have a crush on Paul Rudd. Barring that, you relish conflict. You can’t resist the siren call of the “*NSYNC vs. Backstreet Boys”-style debate over whether the theatrical cut or the producer’s cut is better, and you have a strong opinion either way.
Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)
You love having Jamie Lee Curtis around as Laurie Strode, but you also want to have a little fun while you’re spending time with her. Plus, Scream is probably why you got into horror movies in the first place, and this one lights up those same pleasure centers.
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
I say this as someone with a soft spot for this movie but frankly, you’re a dyed-in-the-wool contrarian. You probably also hate pizza.
Halloween (2007)
Most likely, this is the first Halloween movie you saw, so this is what feels like “your” Halloween. But if that’s not the case, then you’re probably someone who prefers backstory and lore to the more fable-esque “good vs. evil” approach from the 1978 Halloween.
Halloween II (2009)
Did somebody say lore? Either you’re a die-hard Rob Zombie stan for loving this one, or you want your horror movies to be confrontational. You like your genre fare to have more of an art film flavor on top of feeling genuinely dangerous and brutal.
Halloween (2018)
You love franchise movies and legacy sequels and whatnot, but you also want a story with some meat on its bones. You like to leave the theater with something to chat about, whether it’s parsing the themes of generational trauma or untangling the complicated continuity of how this fits into the timeline of the rest of the franchise. You probably own or know somebody who owns a piece of A24 merchandise.
Halloween Kills (2021)
You’re a straight-up gorehound. Forget the story, if Michael is delivering gleefully bloody kills while eerie synths play, you’re there.
Halloween Ends (2022)
You’re a completist. You like the sense of accomplishment you get after seeing a project through. Even though this will almost definitely not prove to be the final Halloween movie in the long run, it still feels like the end of an era. While your marathon may have had some bumps in the road, at least you got to end it accompanied by Laurie, Michael, and a John Carpenter soundtrack.